Body of man retrieved from Likoni channel after vehicle plunged into the sea

The body of a middle aged man was on Saturday morning retrieved from a vehicle that plunged into the Likoni Channel.

According to Kenya Ferry Services, the driver of the vehicle  sped off to the ramps at high speed immediately after purchasing a ticket for the crossing, plunging into the ocean.

“A motorist driving a saloon car whose registration number plate has not yet been established right away after purchasing ticket drove off to the ramps with high speed to the ocean,” read the statement by KFS.

They further noted that the driver failed to stop the vehicle despite several efforts by the Ferry Officials to flag him down.

The driver has since been identified as John Mutinda and his body moved to Coast General Hospital Mortuary.

The remaining occupants of the vehicle are yet to be identified but a search and recovery operation is underway in the channel.

Meanwhile, Mombasa County Government has dispatched a team to join the multi-agency rescuers, who are trying to retrieve the vehicle and its occupants.

This comes barely three months, after a woman and her daughter died at the channel after their car plunged into the ocean from the ferry.

The ill-fated car was the last to board MV Harambee ferry on Sunday, September 29, 2019 and reversed when the ferry was midstream, plunging into the ocean.